ANSWERED PRAYER Kayla Aspeslagh is coming as an ELCA-GM missionary to support ICLH Youth Ministry. Thanks to God for this wonderfully answered prayer!
WHAT I WILL MISS... the people on the street, who invariably meet your eye and smile back Honduras’ beautiful blue mountains, spectacular skies and daily sunshine. Fresh tropical fruits; quesillo and smoked cheese; pupusas., thick, sweet coffee. watching ICLH grow and mature the outstanding people I met and worked with
WHAT I WON’T MISS... all the ants -- and the bugs and plagues that devour my plants in record time the Dry Season with its scorching heat and air stinging from the smoke of burning fields
WHAT SCARES ME... Reverse culture shock! If listening infrequently to CNN does it, how will actually living in the USA be? No computer! After being practically welded to the laptop this year, will I go into severe withdrawal when I return it to ICLH on Friday and have no computer of my own? Driving! Will I forget and drive like I do in Honduras and end up getting ticketed?
NEXT STEPS
I travel in July: -- visiting supporting churches, family, and attending Deaconess Annual Conference and the ELCA-GM Missionary Conference. And after that?
Still nodoors have opened, so I will owe you a final letter to let you know where I end up. Please pray!!
(Because the attachment was too big, I had to take out the pictures about training Health Care Volunteers, and serving as a link/interpreter between the ICLH and our Partner Churches.)
Liturgy and Worship
Training, Retreats, Conferences
So: were these years as a missionary “worthwhile”? Did my work make any difference? I didn’t expect to see any results yet, so it is a great blessing that I have actually begun to see growth, new maturity and changes in attitude that have led to changes in praxis in the ICLH. Very exciting, indeed! Continue to remember this developing church.
Materials development
And now, dear friends, it is time to say goodbye to you, too. Thank you for all your prayers and support over the past three years. This may be my last newsletter, but I have the same e-mail address …and I’m still on Facebook!
In faith and service in Christ, --janet
Deaconess Janet Russell Alcántara/Iglesia Cristiana Luterana de Honduras